Our report that Hitachi will offer the world's first 1TB hard disk comes muddled along with Seagate also confirming to us it has a 1TB disk in the works.

It said it expects "to be the first to deliver 1TB hard drives in high volume for global customers during the first half of 2007."

Seagate, the World's biggest hard disk manufacturer, also says its version will only have four platters inside it, one less than Hitachi's 1TB drive.

Fewer platters generally result in a quieter and cooler device. which will result in a quieter and cooler device.

Both disks use perpendicular recording, which theoretically offers ten times the data density compared with longitudinal recording.

The Hitachi disk will sell for $399 (£205) and the Seagate drive will probably sell at a similar price.

By the end of 2007 we can expect all the hard disk manufacturers to have jumped ship to 1TB drives.